An Taoiseach Micheál Martin says Ireland is not heading towards more travel restrictions ahead of Christmas.

Mr Martin says he could not rule out bringing in more restrictions if the Omicron variant takes a turn.

But he says for now the Government wants to align with European health advice.

"The antigen test we've brought in - which some people have negative feelings about in terms of the airlines and so on like that - has already resulted in a reduced volume of travel.

"But that's not the direction of travel, excuse the pun, right now.

"We want to align ourselves with the European policy approach to travel - notwithstanding the challenges of the virus".

He says his main message to people is that boosters are the best weapon at the moment.

"The important point is - and the core point I was making in the Dáil during the week - was the booster really enhances your protection.

"Not only against Delta but against Omicron, and it is the primary weapon we have - and that people have - in terms of protecting themselves against COVID.

"It is important to get that message across - there can be noise about a whole lot of other things - but the important point is, and as Pfizer has doubled-down on yesterday, the booster does work.

"It can work within days of increasing your protection against Delta, and we now know against Omicron".

He says while there have been HSE system issues with booster appointments, pharmacies have seen their highest level ever.

"If you look at the totality, pharmacies would have accounted for about 25,000 last week - and that was the highest ever weekly for pharmacies.

"So in the overall, there's a million vaccinated - so I think you have to look at things in perspective and in context."

Mr Martin was speaking ahead of the confirmation of 4,022 further cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

The Department of Health said there are five additional cases of the Omicron variant here - bringing the total number to six.

Additional reporting: Sean Defoe